Spudea ruticilla (Esper, 1791)

Habitat:Spudea ruticilla inhabits warm oak forests, rocky steppe forests and similar dry warm places with sparse oak trees. I found the caterpillars on 18/04/2011 in Valle Venosta (South Tyrol) together with those of Dryobotodes eremita and Conistra veronicae very common (most common species) on strong flowering, partial small trees of Quercus pubescens in a steppe-like slope.

Life cycle:The moths fly in total from October to April. In the autumn only a few moths are on the wing. The main part appears from late January to early April. Thus mostly the moth overwinters in the pupal case, probably rarely also the eggs. The caterpillars live from April until June on young oaks at least until they are half-grown (flowering branches!). Fully grown, they live possibly also on the ground vegetation (to be investigated).

Endangerment factors:Spudea ruticilla is locally endangered as open steppe forests with oak as economically uninteresting locations have often been intensified (vineyards, dense planting of conifers, buildings etc.).

Remarks: Spudea ruticilla is distributed from northwest Africa across southern and parts of central Europe to Romania. In SE-Europe it is mostly replaced by Spudaea pontica. In Central Europe it is found especially in the valleys of the southern Alps. North of the Alps, Spudea ruticilla is found only at a few places as far as about the North and Baltic Seas. It lacks in the northern Alps and large areas north of it (foreland of the Alps, Baden-Wuerttemberg, etc.).